Our Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11

As we continue on in our study of Ephesians, today we reach verse eleven. This verse says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Today we will focus on what our inheritance is while the next article will focus on the latter portion.

We can see from past verses that “Him” here is referring to Jesus. We looked last time at how He unifies us believers into one. We are the church, His Bride, forever. We have also seen previously that we are His adopted children (verse 5), adopted before the foundations had even been laid (verse 4). Today we look at the inheritance that we receive because of being His. We see how He rewards us.

It is a curious thing to be rewarded for something that we have not earned. We have seen in previous articles how we were predestined to be His adopted children, and chosen by Him. We have seen how God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins because of His indescribable grace. We have seen how we have not gained the right to be His children or His bride. Yet He has chosen to reward us with an inheritance. It speaks again towards His abounding grace.

What is this inheritance that we have obtained? While we certainly do not know all it entails, we do have a small idea thanks to what God has shown us in His Word. We have already studied one of these verses in this series. Ephesians 1:3 says that “God…has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Every single spiritual blessing. That is what we have obtained; that is what we have inherited.

We also see in 2 Peter 1:3-4 that we have been given “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” When we get saved God gifts us with all we need to live a holy life, to live a life that praises and glorifies Him and gives us exceeding joy. We see that in verse four. Through His promises we are “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The unsaved man cannot escape the sins of this world. He cannot escape the devil. He is bound; a slave to sin (Romans 6:17). What a shame for us to waste this ability, gifted by Him, to break free from sin! “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:2).

Our inheritance is that now we can say no to sin and can claim His promises. We can ask God for godly wisdom and He will give it (James 1:5). We can ask Him for strength and He will strengthen us (Isaiah 40:28-31). “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly,” (Psalm 84:11b).

The most amazing gift we have inherited is Christ. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:22-23 and Romans 8:17 that we are fellow heirs with Him. How can that be? How can we be so blessed by Someone perfect and holy? Because He is good, and because He is gracious. We are able to walk with the Creator of the universe, share our burdens with Him, enjoy a close relationship with Him, and know Him. It is a shame that some of us have never tasted the sweetness of the closeness He desires to share with us. It is a shame that those of us who have tasted soon forget and allow the devil, this world, and our sinful flesh distract us from the gift He wants us to enjoy to the fullest: Himself.

We will of course also enjoy an inheritance in heaven where there will be no more tears and where we will finally get to see our God, Father, and Friend face to face. Our eternal inheritance will forever be with Him. Our joy will be forever new. As Joni Eareckson Tada says in her book When God Weeps, “Heaven will not only be more then we can imagine, the ‘more’ will go on forever. It will be timeless. It has to be; joy flows from God, God is eternal; therefore, so is joy.”[1] This is the inheritance Jesus has for us in heaven. This is what He has prepared for us. An eternity with Him, with God, with the Holy Spirit, with unending love, grace, peace, and joy. This is what He has gifted us when He called us to be His, and adopted us as His children.

[1] Joni Eareckson Tada, When God Weeps: Why Our Suffering Matters to the Almighty (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 208

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